


Movie Marathon

by afteriwake



Series: And Now I'm Learning You [24]
Category: Doctor Who, Sherlock (TV), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-22 05:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2495597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly attempts to take Khan’s mind off of things with a movie marathon, though it doesn’t work out quite how she expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Movie Marathon

**Author's Note:**

> I swear, when I started writing this I completely forgot Karl Urban is Eomer. Whoops? I had fun with it, though.

Despite the very unexpected yet very good news he had received about Molly's pregnancy, he was still brooding. He didn't mean to, but the conference call between the five of them involved in this colossal mystery had not helped him get over matters very well. It had only brought up more concerns and now, because there was going to be someone else thrown into the equation in roughly seven months, new worries. He had tried his best not to be distant, but he wasn't giving Molly as much attention as usual, and she seemed to have noticed as she pushed him down onto the sofa before sitting next to him. “You and I need to do something,” she said, moving closer to him. “Not shagging and not traveling with the Doctor, but something that gets you out of this mood and concentrating on something else.”

“I'm perfectly content to stay here with you and do nothing,” he said.

“But then you brood,” she said. “I know there are a lot of questions that haven't been answered, and I know it's a big area of your life you want to know more about, but other than being happy I'm pregnant you haven't actually smiled much or enjoyed yourself since the Doctor found out that you had been here before and I miss that.”

“So what are you thinking?” he asked, curious to see what she suggested.

“We do a marathon of some sort. Films that catch your interest, a television series you've thought about watching...I'm not sure. But it's something where we can sit and stay close and enjoy something that could be fun.”

He studied her closely. She looked hopeful but a tad guarded. They certainly did not have the same taste in films or television series, just like they had different taste in music and sports. It was something he liked about them as a couple, that they could accept that their tastes were different but they could tolerate watching something if it made the other person happy. Sometimes they were able to bring the other around to at least appreciating something, and sometimes they couldn't, but even if it was something he wasn't particularly fond of he found he still enjoyed doing it with her. “Do you have a suggestion as to what to watch?” he asked.

“Well, there's a few television series I've thought about trying, and I was also considering watching all the movies that are based on Marvel comics. Not just the ones that the actual company puts out, but other ones, too, like the Spiderman and the X-Men movies.”

“How many of them are there?” he asked.

She looked down at her hands and counted. “Well, there are six of the Marvel movies on DVD, and I believe the seventh is currently in theaters, and I'd like to see that before it leaves. And then there are four different Spiderman movies with two different actors, and...” She trailed off as she began counting again. “I believe there are six X-Men movies and one more of those is going to be in theaters soon. And then this summer there is _another_ movie from the actual Marvel studio that looks bloody hilarious.”

He shut his eyes for a moment. “So you want to watch...sixteen movies at home and one in the theater. And each movie is two hours long?”

“Give or take,” she said with a nod.

“That would be thirty-two hours’ worth of movies to watch at home and two more hours in the theater,” he said as he opened his eyes. “Not counting pauses for us to make food.”

“Oh, no no no,” she said, her eyes wide and her head shaking. When she stopped she gave him a large smile. “This is when you survive on takeaway. You pause the movie, place your order, turn the movie back on and then pause it when it arrives and you pay for it. And then you eat it out of the takeaway containers.”

“The idea sounds appealing, but not the movies,” he said.

“Oh,” she said quietly.

“You have some very large box sets of something called the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy?”

“Oh! You mean the four hour extended versions with the extras!” she said excitedly. “Yes, I have those. And while the prequel trilogy isn't done yet, I have the first two Hobbit films as well. Well, the extended edition of the first one, but not the second. You would have to wait to finish it in December when the last movie with the huge battle scene comes out. But we could at least watch what I have.”

“Let us, for now, stick with the trilogy which is already finished,” he said, getting up. “If this is enjoyable for both of us then we can do the prequels closer to December before the next Hobbit film comes out. Does that sound fair?”

“It does,” she said with a nod and a smile. “Just be forewarned that each film is four hours long.”

“So we would be sitting here for twelve hours, and it is...” He glanced at his watch. “Currently five o'clock in the evening. So we would be done by five in the morning. Do you want to stay up all night?”

“Well, I love these movies. You have the love story between Aragorn and Arwen, you have the silly antics of Merry and Pippen, you have the grumbling friendship between Legolas and Gimli, and then you have the undying devotion that Samwise has for Frodo even though the evil Gollum is mixed into it. And that's not counting the Riders of Rohan and especially my favorite, Eowyn. She is a very amazing character. And there's a lot with Faramir and his father Denethor, who's a huge tosser. And there are also two wizards plotting, one on each side, and Gandalf is awesome. And the battle scenes are exquisite. These are some of my favorite movies ever.”

He gave her a slight grin because of her enthusiasm. If these were movies she was passionate about, he would give them a try. “All right. We can watch them all in one sitting.”

She squealed softly and then leaned over to hug him. “You won't regret this, I promise.”

“I certainly hope not,” he said, making a move to embrace her back. But she pulled away and bounced out of her seat, heading towards her bookshelf. Some of her DVDs were away from the rest of them, interspersed on the bookcase closest to the television. He knew next to those three movies and the two Hobbit ones were an omnibus version of the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, a beautifully illustrated copy of The Hobbit  that he was afraid to touch and then another book called The Silmarillion, which was supposedly the stories that took place long before The Hobbit, according to the dust jacket. He also noticed a few other books that didn't look as nice mixed in with them. “What are the other books?”

“Poems and short stories written by Tolkien that fit in with these stories, and then a book of art drawn for promotions and book covers. You _are_ allowed to come read any of these, if you want. I have them because I love the entire mythology he created and the stories are incredibly compelling.”

“I might, at some point,” he said. “Shouldn't we order our food before we start?”

“Oh, right. I'm in the mood for Vietnamese. I'm kind of craving bun bo hue and nem ran at the moment, with some hoa qua dam for dessert. What do you want to eat?”

“Something spicy,” he said, getting up and going into their kitchen to look for a Vietnamese menu. He found one and read over the choices. “Bun bo nam bo sounds spicy,” he said. “And rau muong sounds good too.”

“Then order it all,” she said. “Just have them mark what's what. I order the same thing every time but I don't eat it often enough to know what each dish looks like.”

He nodded and reached for his phone. He called the number on the menu and placed their orders and then hung up. “It should be thirty to forty-five minutes.”

“Perfect,” she said with a grin as she pulled out the first DVD. “I'll even be nice and get up to get the food when it gets here. I won't even make you pause it.” She moved to her DVD player and inserted the first disc as he went back over to the sofa to sit down. As soon as she got it in she moved back over to the sofa and snuggled next to him. He reached over for the remote on the table in front of the sofa, and when he got it he pressed play on it before leaning back and putting his arm around her shoulders. Once they were settled they began to watch, and he had to admit, he wasn't entirely bored with it. They had made it to the point where Frodo and Sam see the elves on the way to the Grey Havens when their doorbell rang. “I'll go get it,” she said. “Don't worry about pausing the movie.”

He nodded and continued to watch even as he could smell the food she brought into the kitchen. He waited for her to sort everything out and soon she showed up with takeaway containers for him, as well as a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. He looked up at her, frowning slightly. “Is this it?”

She nodded. “Apparently your meal isn't that large.”

“It's a good thing I don't really have to eat,” he grumbled.

“Oh, one of my favorite parts is coming up!” she said with a wide smile. Khan reached over for the remote and paused the movie. She went back into the kitchen and opened drawers and cabinets up. “Do you want something to drink?” she asked.

“I'll take a glass of water,” he replied

“Water for you, cola for me,” she said. A few minutes later she came over carrying their drinks, setting hers on her side and his next to the food he wasn't eating. Then she went back to the kitchen to get her food before bringing it over and setting it down next to his on the table.

“You got more,” he said, frowning.

“If you share some of yours, I'll share some of mine,” she suggested.

“I thought you didn't like spicy food,” he said.

“Oh, not that. The other stuff.”

He thought about it a moment, then nodded. “All right. You can have some of the rau muong if I can have a bit of each of your dishes.”

“Deal,” she said with a grin. “Okay. Go ahead and start the film again.”

“Why are you excited for this part?” he asked curiously.

“Betrayal,” she said. “And soon you get to see one of the really bad guys going after the Hobbits.” He nodded and then settled in to watch the movie as they ate. He had to admit, these were fairly interesting movies. There was an obviously large and complex mythology behind them, and he found himself fascinated by various aspects of it. There were bits he didn't like very much, but those were thankfully few. By the time the first movie ended they had finished their food and it was nearly nine o'clock at night. “So. What do you think?”

“I think that the two Hobbits that aren't Frodo and Samwise are idiots, Gandalf is also fairly idiotic for not taking care of the Balrog while off the bridge, Elrond is a very interesting character and I was actually saddened by Boromir's death, which surprised me because I don't think you're supposed to like him very much for attempting to steal the ring, even if I can understand his motivation,” he replied. “Also, I don't think I should like Saruman as much as I do.”

She chuckled. “Oh, we definitely have different opinions on this movie,” she said. “But did you enjoy it?”

“I did,” he said with a nod. “We should probably order food to get us through the rest of the night now before the restaurants stop delivering.”

“What are you in the mood for now?” she asked.

“Indian,” he said.

“I want that, but I also want Chinese,” she said thoughtfully. “I could always order both and put the Chinese in the refrigerator for now. Though I also want to pop out to the market and pick up a few things, like cheesecake and crisps.”

He looked at her intently. “Just out of curiosity, are those one of those cravings that pregnant women are supposed to get?”

“I don't think so,” she said. “It's not as though I'll perish if I don't have them. I don't think any of those cravings will start until later.”

“Well, we can order our usual for both types of food and if you still want the items from the market we can get them from Tesco later,” he replied. “It is open twenty-four hours, correct?”

She nodded. “I believe so. And if not there should be some place that's open.” She got up off of the sofa and went to the television. “You should get used to the idea of making very late evening runs to the market the further along in this pregnancy I go, though.”

He sighed. “Wonderful.”

“Well, for all we know I may not get any cravings that need to be fulfilled immediately,” she said. She took the current DVD out and put in the first one for the next movie. “The first part of this DVD I can skip, so I'll go place the food orders and you can watch.”

He nodded. “Very well.” She started the DVD and then went into the kitchen to call for their food. He settled in and she joined him about ten minutes later. “About how long is the food going to take?”

“About thirty minutes for the Chinese food and an hour for the Indian,” she said.

He looked over at her. “An hour?” he asked incredulously.

“They had a party of thirty show up unexpectedly so they ran out of what you wanted,” she said. “I could always cancel our order and call the other restaurant.”

“No,” he said with a sigh. “That restaurant actually makes the curry extremely spicy.”

“You and your love of spicy food,” she teased, nudging him slightly. “You should probably go back to the movie. I've seen it a million times already.”

“Very well,” he said with a nod, putting an arm around her shoulders as she snuggled closer to him. He watched the movie for a while before he sat up quickly. “I can't believe it.”

Molly looked over at him, startled. “What's wrong?”

He paused the movie. “Look at Eomer. Take a very good look.”

She got up and moved closer to the television, and then her eyes widened as she turned back to him. “Oh my God. He's a blonde, bearded Leonard with an accent.”

“Even though they're an entire universe away they're still going to bother me,” he said with a groan.

“I wonder if there's people here who look like other people from your universe. Not more clones, but doppelgangers perhaps,” she said thoughtfully. 

“Well, apparently we've found McCoy's,” he said.

“I've seen these movies countless times and I never realized that,” she said as she sat back down next to him.

“And I was starting to like Eomer, too,” he said, sighing.

“Maybe he'll be so different from Leonard you'll be able to separate them,” she said.

“I highly doubt it,” he said. “We might as well continue with the movie.”

“Now I'm rather sorry we're watching them,” she said with a frown.

He turned to look at her, setting the remote down. “You didn't realize it. He does look and sound different, after all. These are movies you enjoy, and you should continue to enjoy them. And I will try my best not to be reminded of McCoy every time Eomer is on screen.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

He nodded. “I'm curious to know how the story ends.”

“All right,” she said, settling in next to him again. The doorbell rang in the middle of the attack on the orcs, and he reached for the remote but she shook her head. “An important part is coming up. Just keep watching.” She got up and went to the door, and he watched the scene with the Riders of Rohan, trying very hard to ignore the fact that Eomer looked familiar. She came back with clean forks and their food. “Is it any easier?” she asked.

“A bit,” he replied. “Though this is interesting.”

“Treebeard!” she said with a smile. “I've always wondered if there were Ents or something like them on some alien planet somewhere.”

“You could always ask the Doctor,” he suggested.

“That is true. And if there were he could probably take us there, if we asked.” She sorted out who got what and then sat down again. “This one has the Battle of Helm's Deep. It's not as big or as long as the Battle of Pelennor Fields, but it's an interesting one nonetheless.”

“Do you like the big battle scenes?” he asked.

She nodded. “I do. Did you know every character had handmade armor? And every helmet and sword had a story? It's incredible the amount of detail they put into these movies.”

“How do you know that?” he asked, picking up his food.

“The other two discs in these four disc sets are extras that go into how everything is made,” she replied. “They have them for the Hobbit movies as well but I don't think they're as extensive. What's really interesting is the main actor in that looks and sounds like John. Like, spitting image, except he's a brunette. I keep teasing John he's got a twin out there.”

“He must hate that sometimes,” he said.

“Oh, he does. I don't think there's any relation between them, though. Though I suppose if John were a less scrupulous man he could use it to his advantage.”

“I wonder if there are any more men who look like me here,” he said quietly.

She turned back to the movie. “I'm fairly sure if we look hard enough there is. There's probably someone who looks like me as well. I wouldn't be surprised if there's multiple people who look like people we know. There's billions of people in this world and try as we might we'll never meet all of them. I find it best not to dwell on it, though.”

“That might be best,” he said with a nod, turning his attention back to the television as well. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind. It didn't do to dwell on doppelgangers when he was trying to forget about the issue with clones. He managed to lose himself in the movie, ignoring the doorbell when it rang with their other meal. Molly left the food in the kitchen and came back empty handed other than a glass of water for herself. He was so enthralled by the movie that when it ended he finally turned back to Molly, only to see her yawning. “We don't need to watch the third one tonight.”

“But that's the best one,” she said. “That's the one that won all the awards.”

“Still, you're obviously tired. We can watch it tomorrow.”

“I can stay awake, or at least try. And even if I do fall asleep it isn't as though I've never seen it before.” She gave him a smile as she got up. “I'll go start it.”

He nodded, watching her swap out the DVDs. She got the first disc in and then came back over to him. He put an arm around her shoulders and she snuggled close. The movie started and he paid attention to it, every once in a while glancing down at Molly. By the time the movie got to Eowyn and Eomer talking about the upcoming battle he realized Molly was asleep. As much as he wanted to finish the movie that could wait until tomorrow. He reached over for the remote, careful not to jostle her too much, and stopped the movie. Then he moved enough so that he could get up off the sofa, and once he was standing he picked her up off the sofa. She didn't wake up, and so he made his way out of the sitting room and towards their bedroom. It wouldn't hurt if he left the lights on for a few hours. He'd almost made his way to the top of the stairs when she yawned. “Go back to sleep,” he said quietly.

“Did you finish it?” she asked sleepily.

“I'd rather watch it with you,” he said. “It can keep for a few hours.”

“I'm sorry I fell asleep,” she said.

He got to the top of the stairs at that point. “It's all right. Do you want to change into something to sleep in?”

She shook her head just slightly. “I can go one night in my clothes.”

“All right.” He carried her into their bedroom and with just a little bit of trouble got the quilt and sheets back before setting her down on her side of the bed. The minute she was on the bed she rolled over onto her side, and he quickly changed into what he usually slept in and joined her soon afterward. Once he was settled he pulled her close against him and just laid there, trying to go to sleep. It didn't appear as though it was going to happen any time soon, though. His mind wasn't whirring about the things it had been focusing on because now he was preoccupied with thoughts about just how that movie ended.

“You want to finish the movie,” she said softly nearly thirty minutes later.

He blinked at that. He had thought she was sound asleep. “Yes, I suppose I do,” he said.

“I can survive a few hours in bed by myself. Go finish the movie. Maybe then I can go back to sleep.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“You're doing that 'thinking too loudly' thing again,” she said. “If you go finish the movie I can fall back asleep and then you can join me when you're done and you won't be keeping me awake.”

He nodded slightly before pressing a kiss in her hair. “I'll be back in a few hours, then.”

“Enjoy the movie,” she said as he got out of bed. He went to the door and gave her one last glance before heading out of their bedroom and back towards the sitting room. The next time they attempted to do something like this they should definitely start earlier in the day, he thought to himself. But for now he was simply glad she was all right with him not joining her so he could finish the film and get some sleep himself without pondering the movie. He was quite grateful for her understanding about that.


End file.
